'Boyz N the Hood' Cast: Then and Now
Twenty years ago, John Singleton's movie about life in South Central Los Angeles revolutionized black film and launched the careers of many of its stars. The Root takes a look at how time has treated their careers.
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Cuba Gooding Jr., ThenimdbTre Styles works at Fox Hills Mall, is smart, has a beautiful girlfriend and is learning how to be a good man through the wise words of his father. He is determined to get out of L.A., by any means necessary, and ends up at Morehouse College. Hmm, wonder what Tre Styles would be up to in 2011? (Side note: We think the "Styles" surname is fitting, considering he rocks that gold-and-black Gordon Gartrell dress shirt.)
Captions by Erin E. Evans
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Cuba Gooding Jr., NowGetty ImagesHollywood treated the main actors in Boyz N the Hood fairly well. In 1997 Gooding won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in Jerry Maguire. (Remember his super-ecstatic acceptance speech?) According to IMDB, he has three films slated for release in 2012: Red Tails, Love Letters in the Sand and One in the Chamber.
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Laurence Fishburne, ThenimdbFurious Styles has plenty of words of wisdom for his son Tre and his friends. He talks gentrification, birth control, drug epidemic, gang violence, race relations.
Fun fact: Fishburne and Singleton met on the set of Pee-Wee's Playhouse, on which Fishburne (then known as Larry) played Cowboy Curtis.
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Laurence Fishburne, NowGetty ImagesFishburne is currently filming a TV movie called Have a Little Faith. Earlier this year, HBO aired Thurgood, in which he played Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice. He has had a recurring role on CSI as Dr. Raymond Langston since 2008. And he played opposite fellow Boyz cast member Angela Bassett in 2006's Akeelah and the Bee.
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Morris Chestnut, Thenyoutube"Riiiiiiccccccckkkkkyyyyy!" Ricky Baker is destined for football stardom. But his dreams are cut short because of '90s violence in South Central L.A. Boyz N the Hood was Chestnut's feature-film debut.
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Morris Chestnut, NowGetty ImagesChestnut's most recent work was in a recurring role in V, a sci-fi series on ABC. But in the 2000s, he came to be known as the suave, chocolate brother in every other romantic comedy, including The Brothers (2001), Two Can Play That Game (2001), Breakin' All the Rules (2004), The Perfect Holiday (2007) and Not Easily Broken (2009). Random Chestnut greatness: when Khadijah and others fight over him in Living Single, and his role in the short-lived TV series Out All Night with Patti LaBelle.
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Ice Cube, Thenimdb"Either they don't know, don't show or don't care about what's going on in the hood." Doughboy's poignant words about the media still resonate today.
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Ice Cube, Nowgetty imagesIce Cube (O'Shea Jackson) has come a long way since his days as a Jheri-curl-wearing gangsta rapper. He's starred in, written and directed films; he's built a family (he's been married for nearly 20 years and has four kids); and he's currently the executive producer of the TBS series Are We There Yet?
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Angela Bassett, ThenyoutubeBefore her quick scenes in Boyz N the Hood as Tre's mom, Bassett was using her acting chops in TV series and TV movies. (She was in a few episodes of The Cosby Show and in an episode of 227.) It was 1992 when her career took off, when she starred in The Jacksons: An American Dream and Malcolm X. She was nominated for an Oscar for her 1993 starring turn as Anna Mae Bullock -- Tina Turner -- in What's Love Got to Do With It?
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Angela Bassett, Nowgetty imagesIn the past few years, she's played Biggie's mom (Notorious), the voice of Michelle Obama (The Simpsons) and a hoity-toity mother (Jumping the Broom). She has two movies slated to air this year: Identity and This Means War.
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Regina King, ThenyoutubeLittle Brenda (her character in 227) is all grown up, with dookie braids to boot, in Boyz N the Hood. King played Shalika, a quick-mouthed friend of Brandi.
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Regina King, Nowgetty imagesShe's been very busy working in Hollywood for the past two decades. She's done everything from voicing Riley and Huey Freeman on Boondocks to playing opposite Sandra Bullock and Reese Witherspoon. Now she's starring as Detective Lydia Adams on TNT's Southland. But if you want to see her candid as ever, watch her on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live.
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Nia Long, ThenimdbBrandi is the apple of Tre's eye. She is smart, good-looking and headed to Spelman to be "across the way" from Tre at Morehouse. He even breaks down and cries in front of her. (Nia Long and Regina King actually appeared on one episode of 227 together. And she later co-starred in Friday with Ice Cube.)
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Nia Long, Nowgetty imagesLong has also had a steady career since her Crenshaw days. She has often worked with her Boyz castmates: with Morris Chestnut in 1999 in The Best Man and with Ice Cube in Friday and Are We There Yet? In 2010 she starred in Mooz-lum as Evan Ross' mother. She recently announced that she is pregnant with her second child.
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John Singleton, ThenyoutubeBelieve it or not, Singleton was only 23 when Boyz N the Hood hit the theaters. He's the youngest person ever to have been nominated for an Academy Award for best director. He was also nominated for best screenplay at the 2002 Oscars.
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John Singleton, Nowgetty imagesHe's slated to release Abduction (in postproduction, according to IMDB) later this year. In 2010 he produced an episode for ESPN's 30 for 30 series on Marion Jones. Since his debut, he's often featured hip-hop artists in his films, including Tupac Shakur (Poetic Justice), Tyrese Gibson (Baby Boy, 2 Fast 2 Furious) and, of course, Ice Cube (Higher Learning).
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Lloyd Avery II, ThenimdbYou may not recognize his name, but Avery was the triggerman in Boyz N the Hood. His character didn't even get a real name in the film; according to IMDB, he played "knucklehead #2."
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Lloyd Avery II, Nowamazon.comAvery appeared in Poetic Justice (1993), Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996), Lockdown (2000) and Focus (2001). He was even in an episode of Doogie Howser, M.D., in which he played a gang member. But apparently his on-screen life didn't differ too much from his real life. In 2001 he was convicted of double homicide. He was murdered in jail in 2005.
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John Cothran Jr., ThenyoutubeMr. Lewis Crump has the golden ticket for Ricky to get out of South Central L.A. But first Ricky needs to score a 700 on his SATs. When Crump tells Ricky "I think you can do anything you put your mind to," it looks like it's the first time Ricky actually believes -- or has heard -- that statement.
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John Cothran Jr., Nowgetty imagesCochran has been in more than 80 titles since his career began and has stayed consistently busy. He appeared on Outlaw, Private Practice, Cold Case and Grey's Anatomy in the last several years.
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Jessie Lawrence Ferguson, ThenyoutubeYou remember the scene: "Scared now, ain't you? I like that. That's why I took this job … I could blow your head off with this Smith & Wesson and you couldn't do s---. Think you tough? What set you from?"
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Jessie Lawrence Ferguson, NowwikiaMost of Ferguson's on-screen work was before Boyz. He had several one-time appearances on TV, including on Starsky and Hutch, Hill Street Blues, Darkman, The New Leave It to Beaver and The A-Team.
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Tyra Ferrell, ThenyoutubeBrenda to Ricky: "My baby is going to a university. I always knew you would amount to something. When you were a little boy, you used to run around here all the time with that football. Remember that? I'm proud of you."
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Tyra Ferrell, NowGetty ImagesYou might have seen Ferrell as Ms. Ella in David Simon's acclaimed HBO miniseries The Corner in 2000. And in 2005 she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her role in the television movie NTSB: The Crash of Flight 323.
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Desi Arnez Hines II, ThenyoutubeYou can't forget when Little Tre is called an "African booty scratcher" (a classic, albeit offensive, '90s dis) at the start of the film. Hines, who played young Quick in Harlem Nights (1989), had a role in House Party (1990) before he landed the role of Tre at 10 in 1991.
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Desi Arnez Hines II, NowflixsterHines had a few minor roles after playing Tre: in The Intern and City of Angels, both short films. According to IMDB, he's a member of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
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Baha Jackson, ThenimdbSibling rivalry at its best:
Doughboy at 10: Dat's my lady, homie. Her name is Brandi.
Ricky at 10: Man, she ain't your woman. She my woman.
Doughboy at 10: How can she be yo' woman when she my lady?
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Baha Jackson, NowmyspaceAfter Boyz, Jackson stayed in Hollywood for small roles in 3 Ninjas (1992), Poetic Justice (1993) and Mr. Jones (1993). According to his MySpace page (yes, MySpace), as of 2009 he was the executive chef at East Atlanta's CENCI Restaurant and Lounge.
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Regi Green, ThenyoutubeGreen, who played Lil Chris, was, in essence, playing himself in Boyz. He had been the victim of street violence in his hometown of Richmond, Calif. At 6 he was shot and paralyzed from the waist down.
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Regi Green, Nowempowering youth, inc.Green hasn't acted since his role as Lil Chris in Boyz N the Hood, but he's been busy inspiring kids to succeed despite their circumstances. He's become a motivational speaker and has his own nonprofit organization, Empowering Youth.
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Donovan McCrary, ThenyoutubeDonovan McCrary, who's the younger brother of Darius McCrary (Eddie Winslow from Family Matters), played young Ricky. This was his first and last feature-film appearance.
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Donovan McCrary, NowyahooAfter his appearance in Boyz N the Hood, he was in a few '90s sitcoms, including Sister, Sister and, of course, with his brother in Family Matters.
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Alysia Rogers, ThenyoutubeRogers played Shanice, Ricky's live-in baby mother. She didn't have too many lines other than apologizing for interrupting Ricky's college-admissions interview to chase after the child.
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Alysia Rogers, NowmissjiaJust one year after her film debut, Rogers appeared opposite Kid n Play in Class Act. Where is she now? Well, we found this new (-ish) picture, but no new information.
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Dedrick D. Gobert, ThenyoutubeGobert played Dooky, the Jheri-curled, pacifier-sucking friend to Doughboy and his crew. His credits include Poetic Justice and Higher Learning.
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Dedrick D. Gobert, NowimdbJust before Higher Learning was released in 1995, Gobert was fatally shot at a drag race in Southern California. He was 22.
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37 of 37 Now Where To?Thinkstock*Read Charlayne Hunter-Gault's Tribute to Mandela
*Check out The Root's guide to Louisiana's Forgotten Black History
*Check out The Root’s genealogy Roots section
*Plan a family reunion and find family-friendly events in major cities
*Get updates on the casts of Boyz N the Hood and Jungle Fever
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